Computer training schemes under scrutiny

The Victorian Government has uncovered serious irregularities in the state's multimillion-dollar traineeship industry during an investigation of federally funded programs.

An audit has found that up to 2000 employers who have received federal and state incentives to provide computer software training have failed to comply with guidelines set up to administer the program.

The ACTU and Victorian unions say the irregularities are just a snapshot of a troubled national trainee program rife with irregularities, financial exploitation and inefficiency. They have called on the Federal and Victorian governments to direct traineeships to areas of need and to monitor more carefully the approval of private training programs.

The audit of employer-based training courses follows the suspension of Victoria's largest registered IT training company, Broadscope, earlier this year for alleged irregularities in administering its training program. Broadscope was also placed in voluntary administration last week but administrator Gideon Rathner, of Lowe Lippmann, has refused to give details of the company's debts or creditors.

Another major training company based in a regional Victorian centre is also under scrutiny and is facing administration.

Broadscope, which had received up to $18 million in taxpayer funds for organising IT training courses, had signed up more than 5500 trainees across Melbourne and in rural areas in the past year. The Federal Government paid Broadscope incentives of up to $6700 for each worker trained. Broadscope kept about $3500 and gave employers about $2500.

However, following union complaints, a Government investigation found the training programs marketed by Broadscope to employers did not meet federal or state guidelines.

The Department of Education and Training's general manager of quality assurance and review, Chris Stewart, said an audit had found "non-compliance" not only in Broadscope but in "a very large proportion" of other training courses provided to employers by registered providers.

Mr Stewart said the Broadscope case had prompted state and federal agencies to agree to an audit of seven national apprenticeship centres in Victoria that were responsible for ensuring the suitability of training courses offered to employers.

Mr Stewart said there were about 150,000 apprentices and trainees in Victoria, employed by 30,000 businesses. He said that about 3000 of those businesses had offered a "certificate three" course for computer software training, but many had confused computer training with software training.

Trades Hall Council secretary Leigh Hubbard said millions of dollars of federal and state money was being wasted on inappropriate programs that served essentially as labour subsidies for many large and small companies in areas that did not need trainees.

Mr Hubbard said unions knew of several call centre companies that employed more than 500 trainees and only a handful of permanent staff. Other retail, hospitality and security companies also employed disproportionate numbers of trainees, and many hired trainees at Christmas in place of casuals.

He urged that the companies' workforces be limited to 10 per cent trainees, saying that over the past three years in Victoria 185 companies had enlisted almost 300,000 trainees.

"We think the current Commonwealth-funded training regime, which is supposed to be monitored by the State Government, is being exploited by many employers," Mr Hubbard said.

"We know people are using trainees as a substitute for permanent workers because they can subsidise their workforce. Trainees are being used in place of casuals but trainees have no right to unfair-dismissal laws and the company does not pay WorkCover levies for them."